Sacrifice
by Hakkane
Summary: Alice wanted a fresh start for her and her niece Lea, and at first, living overseas sounded like a good idea, but is Gotham the best place to do so? It wasn't really a choice to move to such a dangerous place known for the high-level crime and hot mysterious guys in spandex. "Tell me again why we decided to move here?" Lea chuckled "Because of your aim." (Rated M to play it safe)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first time writing a fic and English is not my native language so please go easy on me, and if you find spelling errors feel free to tell me.**

**I welcome constructive criticism and moral support and it would be great if you review! I know how hard it is to write something that makes you proud and feel it is good enough for others to read. It took me a very long time to upload this story because of my lack of self-confidence, but here it is and I hope with all my heart you like it.**

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Death… She could feel its cold fingers getting closer and closer with the passing time. Her heart was beating loudly against her ears and instead of a leaving organ, it was more like a clock. A clock counting the seconds she had left until the end - her end. People usually say that in the last moments of one's life, their past runs in front of their eyes and they have just enough time to realize and think about their regrets, their accomplishments, their mistakes, their decisions, their family and friends, the people they love. It was true. In her last moments that was all she could think. It filled her mind, both happy and sad memories, even memories she thought she had long forgotten came to her in one last rush of breath.

Has her body started to shut down from the lack of oxygen, her vision becomes nothing more than a murk. The pain caused by the big and rough hands she was so desperately clawing, in a useless attempt to yank them off herself, evaporated, leaving just a small sensation of their touch in her skin, as she gradually lost her sense of pain. As seconds became minutes to her confused self, she didn't think about the man who was ending her life, nor did she cursed her luck or fate or other illogical force. She thought about the people she would hurt with her absence, the people who would mourn her, and the life she was forced to leave behind. Moreover, she realized something. She saw someone she did not imagine she would see in a moment like this, someone she did not expect to be so important in her life. In her last moments, she understood she was in love with him, as his face was the last one she saw.

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The moon was shining high when the plane finally landed. The coldness of the night was a nice and welcome felling on her body, in contrast with the stuffy air that she had been living with for the past seven hours. The wind kissed her hot face, making her dark brown hair hover back and she took a big and deep breath, eyes closed in content. At last, she was able to breathe again.

"Finally we're here! I couldn't take one more minute of that horrible plane."

The child beside her frowned at the comment. Her small hands grabbing tightly the straps of her black backpack.

"I was the one who couldn't take any more of your complaints. Seriously Alice, you're just like a child sometimes…you complain about the chair, the food, the washroom and the fat, sweaty, smelly guy sitting beside you-"

"I'm not really in the mood for your lectures Lea, so shut up or I'm going to leave you behind." She snapped, interrupting the girl's parental speech about her childish behavior. She was an adult, not a kid, moreover, she wasn't in the mood for anything unless a good night's sleep, her back was stiff from being in the same position for hours and she was having a horrible headache. In conclusion, she was sore, tired and grumpy and the last thing she needed was her eleven years old niece nagging about her conduct.

The small girl looked up at her, with big transparent teal eyes, much like her own, shining with mirth.

"Yeah right as if you would leave your favorite niece alone in the airport, in a new city not to mention at night." She chuckled, her chest puffing with all the confidence she had in her statement.

"What do you mean by 'my favorite niece'? It's not like I have a choice, I only have one." A small smile bloomed on her lips. "Come now, I want to get home as soon as possible."

_Home…_ Alice mused. It was a strange concept. To her a house was only a place with four walls and a roof on top, it wasn't home. A home was much more than such a simple and lifeless thing. If someone asked her to describe what home was, she would say it was warm, something that would fill her body and heart with irrational happiness and serenity, and it would make her smile and taint her dark days with a beautiful and colorful palette. Unwittingly, her brain tried to remember the last time she felt like that, and to her annoyance an unwanted memory spread through her mind, taking her to paths she didn't want to walk at the moment.

Trying to take back the control of her emotions and thoughts she picked up their huge suitcase full of their clothes and some other items on one hand and extended the other to the small girl, who took it letting herself be lead to the nearest taxi. Beside her Lea squeezed her hand harder, her delicate fingers were a little cold and Alice squeezed in return hoping her heat would spread and warm Lea's hand. They were so little and thin compared with her own - and people usually said she had small hands. Things like this, remedied Alice how young Lea really was. The little girl always acted so maturely, she sometimes forgot she was dealing with a ten years old. She behaved so unlike the kids her age, and it took Alice some time to notice that deep down she had the same fears, the same complexes – probably even more than the other kids did.

She knew that Lea didn't like changes, it made her niece feel insecure and moving to a new city was a huge step for her small feet. Even now, Alice was unsure if it had been a good choice if with time they would be able to make a home out of this city, make friends and be happy. She wanted to tell Lea that everything was going to be all right, but she couldn't, she wasn't sure if it would be true and one thing Alice didn't do was lie. With a heavy burden on her chest, Alice did the only thing she could for now – prevent her own dismays from showing. She needed to be a steady, strong and reassuring presence in Lea's life and for that, she couldn't and wouldn't let her own fears display.

As they exited the airport and made way to the taxi stand a few feet away, the driver of the nearest cab saw them getting closer and not wanting to lose a customer to the others, got out of the car at a fast pace. He greeted them with a '_good night, do you need a ride?_' and extended a hand offering to put the suitcase in the trunk, while they got inside. It was warm, however, the strong smell of lemons hover in a nauseating way that made Alice wrinkle her nose.

Once inside as well, the driver turned back in his seat. "To where ladies?"

The man was chubby and short, in his mid-forties, with a grayish beard surrounding a kind smile squeezed between two big red cheeks.

"To upper town." Alice said while searching her pockets. After some frantic search among forgotten tissues, finished snacks and keys, she finally took a piece of paper from one of them and gave it to the man. "Here's the address."

"Oh I know exactly where this is, it's not far. Nevertheless, it's a good thing that you arrived at night, because during the day mainly in the morning and late in the afternoon it's chaotic. Sometimes it takes hours to get anywhere."

"Uau, I'm already loving this town." Lea said her voice full of sarcasm.

The driver seemed to found her words amusing.

"Well that's how it is in Gotham or you love it or you hate it, there's no middle term. No one can be indifferent to this city, I guaranty. Anyway, I welcome you to Gotham City." The man whose name was Gary, said while showing them a big toothy smile from the rearview mirror.

"Thank you, but how did you know we weren't from around here?" Alice asked.

"I interact with a lot of people in my daily job is just like a six sense I developed thanks to my work-"

The soft music of the radio abruptly stopped interrupting Gary's line of thoughts – a female voice took over the radio.

"Breaking news on GC Midnight News, an armed robbery has just occurred in one of the most famous jewelry stores in Gotham…" The sound of a couple of loud sirens of police vehicles passing by prevented the trio to understand the rest of the news.

Alice turned back in her seat, looking at the blue and white cars driving away. _Moving to Gotham was a very bad idea._

Since the beginning, she didn't like the idea of moving to such a dangerous place, but she couldn't complain, mostly because it was her fault Gotham was their destination and before 'choosing' they promised to not back of, regardless wherever luck or in this case bad luck took them. Previously coming here, Alice investigated everything she could dig about the city and surprisingly she found a ton! Mostly dirt, crimes, lunatics, vigilantes in capes and spandex… she was amazed how absurd the crime rate and the news related sounded, it seemed a completely new world to her, a world she knew it existed but she feared to enter. For three years, she was able to prevent her and Lea's involvement in such craziness and now because fate, misfortune, or some other shitty superior force out there, they were both opening a door that would lead to a path she feared not have enough strength to walk.

"Don't worry miss it's not near us or the address you gave me." Gary said, trying to assure their safety after seeing the apprehension painted on her face over the mirror.

Alice didn't respond, the man kind words did nothing to ease her worries.

With the radio turned off, the rest of the way was done in silence, something both girls appreciated since small talk was something that didn't run in the family.

There were shadows dancing inside the car, almost like living things, constantly changing their abstract forms, big to small, darker to lighter, appearing and disappearing as they passed lamps, buildings, and other vehicles, creating dark panthers all over them. Alice was looking through the window, chin supported by her palm as the scenery changed before her eyes. The landscape was so different from what she was used to, the roads, the buildings, the environment and in the morning the people too, she was sure; everything seemed so big, grey, cold, detached. It hasn't been an hour since they arrived and she was already feeling like a fish out of water as if she didn't belong there. She always felt like something was missing but if it was from her or from the places and people around her she didn't know.

Taking a deep breath to prevent herself from brooding about the past – something she was doing more and more since they decided to move – the brunet told herself once more, the words she kept repeating in her mind since that day.

_This is for Lea's sake, for a happy and bright future… for both of us..._

As long as her niece was safe and happy, anywhere was fine for her. Lea was her friend, her family, her most beloved person in the entire world… she was home. Therefore, anywhere was fine as long as they were together and her niece was happy.

When they finally arrived at their new apartment Lea was already half-asleep, eyes shut and head slowly falling forward, before opening them again with a jolt, only to repeat the same procedure after a few seconds. Like a small bow to an invisible someone. The younger girl was trying hard to stay awake but it was already two in the morning and even though she had slept most of the flight, the nerves of the day were getting to her.

"Lea wake up we're here." Alice said her voice no more than a whisper, as she shook the girl up a little in the shoulder before taking some money from her wallet to pay the driver.

"I'm awake." Lea grumbled before letting her eyes shut once more.

"Then come on and get out of the car, I can't carry you and the suitcase at the same time."

"Then just leave it be, I'm more important than that stupid bag."

Alice chuckled. _Now who's being childish?_

"If I let it be, it's going to find a way into someone else's house."

Alice was already outside paying the man and thanking him for getting their luggage out of the truck when Lea finally got out of the taxi with a big yawn that she didn't care to hide.

"Now hurry and go to your parents, don't go wandering off at these hours, the streets of Gotham are dangerous. Have a goodnight sleep, you two look like you need one." Garry was a cabby since he was old enough to drive, he was born and raised in Gotham and knew the town like the back of his hand. He had driven all kinds of people, good, bad, rich, poor, old, young and that made him a very good judge of personality. He could see that the two girls were kind and good-natured and like every newbie in Gotham a little naive to the city rules; as a father of a girl and a boy, one with fourteen and the other with eleven, he felt the need to warn them about the risks of the night. They were young and looked like easy targets, not that this part of town was particularly dangerous, it was actually a good zone to live, but like every other neighborhood of Gotham it didn't lack crime. Bad, freaks and madmen were everywhere, creeping out of every dark corner or alley, just waiting for the perfect prey and chance to attack.

Lea covered her giggle with a fake cough, trying not to be rude in front of the man when he was just being nice and attentive. Gary didn't notice but Alice did and sent a silent, but very useless, scold to her niece while he was shutting the truck.

"Yes, thank you for your concern we will be careful. Goodnight mister."

"Thanks and a good night to you too."

Alice's eyes never left the yellow car, as it drove away from her vision, disappearing behind some buildings. Beside her Lea finally let her giggles loose.

"I bet he thought you were a teenager!"

Alice just sighed; it wasn't worth fighting a losing battle. She knew Lea was right, the taxi driver assumed that she was younger and this wasn't the first and would not be the last time that people would confuse her for a teen, even though she was twenty-six.

She looked again at the girl beside her. Lea was starting to shiver from the cold breeze, autumn was just a few weeks away but here in Gotham it seemed it had already arrived, so cold it was. They would need to buy more warm clothes, they were not prepared for such an intense winter. With another sigh, she took Lea's hand in hers and started walking to the front door. She hated the cold and the need to wear layer upon layer, upon layer of clothing.

"Let's get inside it's chilly out here."

"I searched and it seems that in Gotham it snows in winter! It's been years since the last time we saw snow."

"You remember that? The last time you were six years old and we were still in England, the three of us..."

"Yeah… I remember a little. Just small memories here and there, like how numb my fingers become when I touched the snow or how unstable it was to walk in the frozen and slippery ground-… it's that an elevator?"

It was more like a rhetorical question, Lea knew that the noise was indeed from an elevator but Alice figured she had been caught by surprise since she wasn't paying much attention around her, something she rarely did. With her condition, her niece learned from a young age the need to always count her steps in new places or least frequented ones, to be alert of sounds, smells and movements, but at that moment she was probably too tired to do all that and in her presence Lea didn't feel the need to depend on all her senses so much.

It had been the sound of the elevator descending that awakened her niece to her surroundings.

"How many floors does this building have?"

"Twenty and ours it's right on top."

This was one of the few things Alice was thrilled about coming to this city, most of the buildings were big and she loved high places. This apartment was a found; the price was really good and the location too. In addition, the fact that they got the highest floor was just icing on the cake.

"Whoa that's cool! It's the first time we live somewhere so high. Show me where the buttons are!"

While they were going up, Alice showed Lea where were the buttons to close and open the elevator doors, the stop button, the emergency button, and the buttons of the respective floors, beginning from the bottom to the top. Lea small fingers traveled through the entire panel, memorizing each and every one of them. It was an old but tall building with big windows, located at the edge of the block, which made it a street corner building. Each floor had four apartments but the last one - theirs - only had three because of the access to the rooftop that took over a big portion of the space, which made their house a little bigger and expensive than the rest. Not as expensive as the other three, the previous owner made them a big discount. He was desperate to sell, something about an accident that occurred a few years ago and since then no one wanted to live there. Alice didn't really care about such things, the house was in good shape and she got a good bargain. Over the phone, the owner said that it had one more room and a second bathroom compared to the others on the lower floors.

Arriving, she opened the door. It was dark and smelled at cleaning products. Alice took the small girl's hand and guided them through the house, opening all the doors and lights to have a quick glance inside each room. Overall, the apartment appeared to be in good shape, taking into account the age. The floors were old with scratches texturing the dark wood boards that they quickly noticed screaked a little while walking and some of the light-colored tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen were cracked here and there, but apart from that, it was a pleasant space. Placing their stuff on the floor, she took blankets and two pillows from the bag, gave one of each to her niece, and took the girl to her new room.

"My room is the door on the right beside yours and the bathroom is on your left. If you need anything call me."

"Ok"

"Alright so let's just change clothes and go to sleep, I'm exhausted. And tomorrow we need to go out to buy the furniture, so we can't wake up late Lea."

"I don't know why you're telling me that, I'm not the one who has problems getting up in the morning."

They had decided that it was out of the question to send their stuff all the way from Portugal to Gotham, it would take too long to arrive and the expenses would be too high. Therefore, they sold almost everything they had - except for a few irreplaceable things they didn't want to get rid of - and in the new city, they would just buy what they needed. Tonight they were going to sleep on the floor with pillows and blankets, not that any of the two would complain, they were both too tired for that and in Alice opinion, it was still more comfortable that the damn blue chair from the plain.

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**And this was the first chapter! What do you think? I know it didn't happen much but I wanted to introduce the characters to the city and to you guys, showing a little of their thoughts, personality and background. I want to write a story with a good construction: beginning, middle and end. In my opinion, those chapters most people think are boring because there is no action or 'mind-blowing' events, are very important parts to make a firm, strong and organized story. I promise in the next one some exciting things will happen!**

**Until next time,**

**« Hakkane » **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello there! Just a note before you start reading: From now on, in some occasions, I will be using words and expressions in Portuguese (since is the language Alice and Lea are used to speaking, you will understand as the story unfolds). But not to worry, I will place the translation right ahead, in between parentheses and underlined. **

**Please enjoy!**

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The morning light was shining brightly through the big windows, nudes of any curtains, assaulting and disturbing the sleep of one of the two new residents. Grunting Alice turned around giving her back to the windows and covering herself wholly with the blankets, forming a barrier against the sun. However, once half-awake she felt her body protesting about the hard wooden boards beneath her. With another grunt, she gave up and threw her blankets away from her body. Still, with her eyes closed, Alice began her morning stretching. She didn't move much during sleep so when she waked up her members were sore and torpid, especially her back and shoulders. She began stretching and flexing both her feet and legs, moving up to her arms, shoulders, neck, and back, popping every possible spot, a content moan leaving her lips with the release of tension. Finally opening her eyes she looked at her phone.

"Merda!"(Shit!) She half-whispered half-shouted. "Leeeaa! Wake up!"

It was already ten-thirty, they both slept in.

"What are you… shouting about… so early in the morning..." Lea asked between yawns while trying to rub the sleep from her eyes, her light brown locks a mess.

"It's not early in the morning, it's already ten-thirty so hurry up, we need to get breakfast in time! The bathroom is this way." She said holding her hand and half dragging her sleepy niece to the nearest bathroom, which was the one inside her room.

"Stay here, I will go get our toothbrushes and all the other stuff."

Running back to her bedroom, to the suitcase that she neglected last night in the far corner of the room, she started searching for her and Lea's hygienic products and by a miracle, they were able to wash up and dress up in fifteen minutes. Their kitchen was only equipped with a median round sink, a small grey marble countertop, and old dark oak cabinets, most of them placed higher than she could reach. They didn't have appliances, food or kitchen tools to cook with, so they ended up in a small cozy coffee one block away, eating pancakes and drinking orange juice, the two had barely made it in time arriving ten minutes before the breakfast service ended.

"Hey Lea when you finish eating search for furniture and electronic store nearby. It would be great if we were able to buy everything today."

Lea put the last piece of pancake in her mouth and took her laptop out of her bag pack, it was something she always brought with her, an essential item for her to have close by on a daily basis. The laptop was equipped with a special speaking program incorporated that allows her to hear instead of seeing; basically, the laptop speaks with the user. But her father who had a knack for computers and technology made some changes and upgraded the basic system of the program to do more than just describe things to the user, of course, Lea made some changes of her own as well in the last couple of years, what exactly Alice wasn't sure.

Since she was small, Lea was a curious child that wanted to know everything but Alice knew her niece always felt she had many limitations because of her blindness, and the girl hated that. When she wanted to know something or wanted to gather information about some theme she had very few choices, there aren't many books for blind people, even less indicated for children. So Alice saw her niece dedicate herself to the most practical font of information she had access to - aside for the people she knew - computers. She became really good with programs, systems, codes and her last knack, hacking. She hated to feel, even though true, that she couldn't do this or that because she was blind or as happen often, people treating her like an incapacitated person, a burden that forced others to change things or get out of their way for her. It was true that existed many things that she couldn't do, like cooking, but Alice couldn't cook either and she wasn't blind. So Lea proud herself with her computer skills, the brunet was sure it made her niece feel closer with her dad and it was something that came in handy since she herself didn't know much about the theme.

Alice didn't like the fact that Lea could get in trouble for doing something illegal but after many times of being proved wrong, she decided to trust her niece's judgment and abilities. Besides, it wasn't like she could do much, cutting the internet access or something of the sort wasn't enough to prevent Lea, who was twice as good as she was and could easily overcome such basic tactics.

"There's a furniture shop fifteen minutes on foot from here. It's called Graham's Furniture and the electronics it's five minutes from there. Here's a map." Lea said while turning her laptop in Alice's direction.

"Thanks. Hmm… ok, I've memorized the map and I've finished eating so let's go."

"We're walking there?"

"Yeah, it's not far and we should get familiar with the neighborhood, besides it's a little sunny today and the weather's not that bad. I heard it's rare here, so we should enjoy this miracle while it last."

As they walked, Alice described to her niece the streets, the people and the always-present greyish atmosphere. They passed by a market place, a few clothing stores, two coffee shops, one restaurant and a small park with some people enjoying their Saturday. A woman reading a book in the shadows of the trees, an old man giving crumbs of bread to the pigeons, two couples sharing romantic moments, a girl walking dogs and a few families enjoying their time together.

"Then it gives the impression of a nice neighborhood?" Lea asked after a while of forming in her mind a picture of her aunt's descriptions.

"Yeah, it's not that bad."

The furniture store was bigger than Alice imagined and had many other products as tableware and washroom sets and other house products. As they entered, the bell on top of the glass door resonated through the whole place, notifying the owner to the arrival of new clients. A skinny guy with a big business smile came out of a lateral door near the balcony to welcome them, but as soon as he saw who the new clients were his smile dropped and a small frown appeared on his face.

"Is there something I can help you with?" His voice unamusing and a little tetchy.

Alice fought the urge to roll her eyes, she could guess what had caused the change in humor on the man, it was something that happened all the time. Actually, it had append last night with the taxi driver; they both confused her for a teenager.

_It's all because of my face…_

Alice didn't look mature or age-appropriate in fact it was the opposite, her height was average but she had what people called a babyface. To make things worse she usually didn't wear much makeup and her choice of style outside of work and social events was a casual one, which didn't help her at all, making her look no more than nineteen or twenty. The man in front of her was probably thinking that it was a waste of time because a teenager and a child represent no profit in this kind of shop.

"Not for now, thank you. If there's something we like to purchase I will call you." Turning her back to the man, the brunet walked away pulling Lea into the middle of the furniture to find what they needed to fill their new apartment.

Lea was touching everything she encounters, it was her way of understanding and envision the form, appearance, and texture of objects and people too. Alice noticed that the man wasn't appreciating them touching or even their presence in the store, but he didn't open his mouth to comment so she didn't say anything either. Soon enough, when they found something they liked and wished to purchase his mood changed in a swift. After three long hours of debating about which one, from which color, material, and size they should take, they finally had everything they needed to furnish the apartment.

The owner was really happy and satisfied with their purchases; it wasn't every day that he sold so much, especially to a single customer. Alice bought a double and a single bed, three bedside tables, a couch, one dining table with four matching chairs, a dark wooden coffee table with a glass top, two bookcases, three shelves, one desk and chair, one chest of drawers, some mirrors, lamps and curtains, a tableware and bathroom sets.

"I need the delivery to happen as soon as possible because right now we don't have a single thing in our apartment."

"Well, we charge extra for urgent deliveries, if that's not a problem we can schedule it for the day after tomorrow at six? My guys should be able to deliver and assemble everything before nine."

"Really, so soon?" Alice didn't expect to have the furniture ready this quick. She had hoped that at least until the end of the week she would have her apartment ready, but being able to close this matter before starting work was a miracle.

"Of course, we have all the items you have chosen in the warehouse and my employers are hardworking fellows that can get the work done really fast." The owner said with a wink at the end "So it's the day and time doable to you miss?"

"Yes. The sooner the better!"

"Then you just need to fill and sign this." He took a piece of paper and a pen from behind the counter. "Miss how will you be paying, credit card or cash?"

"Credit." She said, handing her card.

After filling and signing the paper the man returned her card and escorted them to the door.

"Have a good day and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call."

"Alright, thank you and have a nice day."

"Oh no, thank you." The owner almost sang, as his smile grow even more on his bony face.

"I guess we made his day." Lea whispered as the two walked away.

"Yeah, I guess we did. But now I'm hungry. We could buy a sandwich on that coffee around the corner and go eat in the park we passed by when coming here. What do you think?"

"Sounds good."

While eating on a bench under the shadows cast by the trees, they made a list of the things still lacking.

"Well we don't have a fridge, nor a stove and oven, uh…what else…" Lea pondered while eating her tuna sandwich. Alice decided to go with a fresh cheese sandwich.

"We also need a TV, a microwave, a toaster, and a coffee machine."

"Then it won't take that much time if it's just that we need to buy."

"Hope not."

Alice said crumpling the paper that came with the sandwich into a ball. She looked around for a garbage can; there was one, more or less three feet away. She aimed and threw it to the bin.

"Was it a hit?"

"No." She pouted.

The ball had hit the edge of the garbage can and dropped on the floor inches away from the goal. Still pouting at her bad aim, she took Lea's paper and got up to pick up her own and put the two in the garbage.

The rest of the afternoon passed with both of them buying the rest of the stuff in the electronics shop and going home with nothing more to do. The owner agreed to deliver her purchases on the same day as the other delivery but in the morning, for an extra cost of course, since she had informed him that in the afternoon she was occupied. In other words, the day was going to be a mess of people and boxes.

The next day Lea took the opportunity to familiarize herself with the apartment, with small but confident steps and both hands glued to the walls she began memorizing the location of every room and the respective number of steps that took her to reach each part of the house.

Outside of their door on the right was the stairs to descendent to the other floors, next was the elevator, with the staircase that leads to the rooftop right next to it. Entering the house, there was a hallway in an 'L' shape that extended itself to the left, linking all the areas of the apartment. The first one, right in front of the entrance was the kitchen that was an open space connected to the dining and living room. Next came the rooms. There were two rooms; one of them was a master bedroom, which Alice took over as hers the moment they bought the house. The private bathroom wasn't the only reason that made the brunet chose this room, it was also the fact that it was situated on the corner of the building, providing double of the windows than the others did - this being the primal reason for her pick. Lea's bedroom was situated between the first room and the bathroom that was at the end of the hallway.

Lea decided she liked the apartment, it was smaller than the former one they lived in but it feels more open and airy and she could not stop wandering around memorizing every single spot. Even though tomorrow she was going to have to do it all over again since with all the new furniture, she was going to need to retrace her steps and memorize new ones so she wouldn't bump into things.

That night before going to sleep, Alice climbed up to the rooftop. Gotham looked – to her surprise – strangely beautiful. The lights of the houses replaced the never presents stars, they were warm yellowish spots dancing in the mirk of the night, each and every one of them a person, a family, a Gothamite, and Alice found herself oddly fascinated. Teel orbs remained focused on the dancing lights, a storm threatening to erupt in the deep green-blue tones. Her heart jumped with insecurity. Would she finally be able to belong, to love a place and be able to call it her home with all her heart? With the dark, cold night involving her, and the moon as her only witness, Alice could finally lose the calm facade. She was scared. And she knew Lea was too, and because of that, she couldn't show her niece her fears and uncertainties. She needed to be a strong, confident and reliable guardian, for Lea's sake. However, the big question was how long she could endure the false assurance, how long until the small girl found out how weak she really was, how pathetic she felt not being able to fill the role she needed to play as her legal guardian and model role. She so desperately wanted to be all that to Lea… although she knew it would never happen…

There were skyscrapers everywhere threatening to touch the dark sky, but never being able to reach it. It was how Alice feels, always trying to reach imposable things; just like a child that isn't aware of their own limitations or the ones surrounding them. But Alice was not a child and she knew very well the limitations she lived with every day and the ones that were a part of her. So knowing this but still trying to reach for the imposable… _What a fool._

Taking one last deep breath, she turned and went back inside. Tonight she would sleep on the floor again; she could not wait for tomorrow when they could finally sleep on a cozy bed.

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Alice was dragged out of her dreams by the alarm clock, the shrilling and horrible noise couldn't possibly be more annoying than that. She truly thought for a few moments to just throw it out of the window and go back to sleep, but the awful sound was reminding her that she needed to wake up soon or she would be answering the door in her pajamas. The people from the electronics shop were going to arrive in less than twenty minutes if they were punctual. With a resigned sigh, she switched the alarm clock off, stretched her back, arms, legs, and neck before getting up and take a quick five minutes shower. Lea was already up by the time Alice got out of the bathroom, they only had time to eat their breakfast before the doorbell rang. The deliverymen had arrived.

The rest of the day was a total racket, man after man after man, entering and exiting the house, arms full of boxes, carrying things from place to place. Alice was running from a room to another, explaining everything, how she wanted and where she wanted things. She needed to supervise everything and she was alone in that job since Lea couldn't help her in that department. The small girl was sitting in a corner trying not to be in the way of the workers, busying herself with her laptop. When the people from the electronics shop left they only had two hours to rest and eat before the employers from the furniture shop came. All the pandemonium of bodies loading furniture and appliance in the house resembled ants pacing around, and didn't stop until all the work was done. When they finished everything, it was already night.

"Thank God it's over. I'm so tired…" Alice grunted as she finally sat down on their new sofa.

Lea sited next to her, the smell of new and dust hanging in the air. They stayed in an amiable silent, appreciating the quietness for the first time that day, until Lea stomach growl in need for food.

"I'm hungry…" The girl said while petting her empty belly.

Alice looked at her watch, it was already eleven pm and they still hadn't dined. She got up and went to the kitchen to fetch something, only to remember their newly and still empty fridge. With all the racket of the day, she forgot to go shopping. A frustrated groan escaped her lips when she realized there was nothing to eat in the house and therefore she needed to go out and buy something at the convenience store.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to go out to buy some groceries, there's nothing to eat in this house."

Lea touched her watch and put it near her ear, the device announcing the time out loud. "At this hour? But it's already so late…"

"If I remember correctly there is a convenience store a few minutes from here, we passed by it in our way here by taxi."

"I don't know Alice…" Lea didn't like the idea of her aunt walking alone in the streets especially since they were still new and didn't know the neighborhood very well. Alice was also a bit apprehensive however, she wouldn't let Lea go to bed with an empty stomach; that was not an option.

"Don't worry it will only take a few minutes." She tried to reassure the little girl. Taking her wallet and keys, she put them in the pockets of her hoody and went out.

The store wasn't far, fifteen minutes north from their apartment. It was a small space with a very limited selection of products, displayed without an apparent order, scattered over four long shelves. An old man was behind the checkout counter, a dirty glass window separating him from the costumers. He scanned her with small parted eyes full of distrust. She offered him a smile when she was paying but that only made him frown deeper.

_Rude…_

As she started walking road up back home, the fatigue of the day started to kick on her muscles and the four plastic bags seemed to become heavier with each step. _I think __there was a shortcut somewhere around here… _

A bifurcation ahead divided the street in two, creating a secondary road that Alice was sure to be shorter and faster. It took her a few moments to decide which path to chose, the familiar one or the new one, but against her better judgment, she advanced through the secondary road. The street was quiet, there wasn't a single living thing passing by. The road became narrow, filthier and darker. Soon enough Alice regretted her choice; there was someone following her. Straining her hearing to discern other sounds over the noise of her plastic bags, she distinguished two different footsteps apart from her own.

_Dammit, I shouldn't have taken the shortcut!_

In the middle of her growing distress, her mind started to drift through all the crimes in Gotham City. She remembered reading something about rape victims 'one in ten women who goes out at night is raped' the journal said. She needed to go back to the main street as fast as possible. Taking a turn to the left, the dim light of the lonely lamp fell behind, producing three big humanoid shadows on the ground. Alice tried to see how far they were from the corner of her eye but the darkness kept growing and spreading around her, involving her in an ebony embrace. Her once relaxed pace changed to a fast one, and when she took another turn, this time to the right, she started running, bags hitting her legs and loudly announcing her outbreak. However, she didn't go far, as a cement wall erected itself before her. Panic started to bump fast through her veins at the sight of the dead end. Teal orbs scanned the gray wall, her brain understanding there was no way she could climb the three meters barrier, but her legs keep screaming as the muscle tensed to run, jump, climb, anything that could save her from the imminent situation. There was no way out.

Her whole body stiffened like the string of a bow as a deep chuckle erupted behind her, echoing on the narrow alley. Alice turned very slowly, her heart dropping as she saw two men; one twice her size who looked like a pig, with a beer belly and rosy and greasy skin. The second was stocky, with tattoo-covered arms and a big mouth full of yellow teeth almost the same color as the single golden-rusty earring on his left ear. The two felonious stood side by side, occupying almost all the width of the alley, leaving no room for her to escape.

Clutching her groceries tightly, Alice tried to sound confident. "I-I don't have any money." It was true, the most she usually had in her wallet was thirty bucks and she had spent it all on the food she was carrying.

The fat one smiled wickedly "We will decide that, give me your wallet."

With shaky hands and slow movements, she settled the left bags on the floor so she could reach her wallet inside her pocket. As Alice grabbed the dark leader square and took it out, two pairs of eyes follow it like ravenous dogs with a piece of meat; she stretched her arm and Piggy - the fat one - took a step forward to get the wallet. However, instead of giving it to him, Alice throws it and in the second Piggy neglected his attention for the propose of catching the wallet, she swung her groceries with all her strength into his face. Piggy out of balance fell round on the dirty pavement, and Yellow Smile was forced to dodge so he wouldn't be knocked over by his friend. Alice didn't let the opportunity go to waste and jumping over the fat legs of the man she runs.

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**What are your opinions about this second chapter? I hope you liked it! Feel free to review, it gives me the confidence and the boost to continue to post this story.**

**Until next time,**

**« Hakkane »**


	3. Chapter 3

Her feet kicked the ground hard with a force that made Alice believe she would be able to out-run anyone and for a few seconds some sort of irrational relief sprout in her chest, it enhanced in waves through her body with each step she took away from the burglars. A pain shoots out from her hand and shoulder, as her arm was pulled back forcefully taking the rest of her with it. She cried out in pain, as her back hit the cold wall with a violent thump knocking the breath out of her chest, she bent over wheezing for air, only to have a dark rough hand gripping her neck and forcing her up against the cement surface.

Black dots danced behind her eyes and she inhaled deeply, a nauseating smell assaulted her senses. "Ya stupid bitch! Who the fuck do ya think you're messing with!?" Yellow Smile yelled into her face.

"What the fuck!?" By the corner of her vision, she could see Piggy with her wallet open. He got up lubberly and threw the wallet to the ground in an angry movement. "It's empty!"

The hand on her neck squeezed harder, Alice trashed against her attacker, nails scratching and feet kicked aimless, trying to make contact with something. "Socorro! Ajudem-me!" (Help! Help me!) Alice screamed desperately for help "Someone hel-!"

"Shut up!" Yellow Smile hissed, slapping her hard with the back of his hand. The blow echoed on the dark alley followed by quietness. A minute passed without any words or even sounds escaping the three people. They stayed in a unanimous silence, waiting and hearken for something, some kind of background noise that would announce another person or sirens indicating someone had heard the pleas of the scared woman. However, the silence lingered in the small dirty alley, its presence heavy and dense and Alice finally understood that no one would come to her aid, no matter how much she screamed or begged, nobody would interfere, nobody cared. She was on her own. And just like a veil, the quietness was lifted with a disturbing snicker from the men.

"Now be a good little bitch and compensate us for all this shit."

Rough fingers grabbed her wrists while his other hand roamed all over her body, tasting her, feeling her. The hair on her neck rose and her stomach twisted in a thigh knot in horror and disgust and for a moment, she didn't move. It was as if her brain had stopped functioning correctly and couldn't process what was happening. The man's hot breath fanned her face, her body shivered with the sudden approach. His tongue found her neck, living a trail of wetness over her exposed skin and Alice retracted even more into the wall. With eyes closed, she tried to shut down, to detach her mind from her body and imagine she was somewhere else far away, in a safe place.

However, every time she was about to conjure an image, a memory, anything, the movements of the man dribbling all over her skin would awake her to the reality in front of her. Adrenaline was running high through her veins, making her body and mind very aware of every action of the two men. Every noise and touch would make her flinch.

"That's right, see nothing like a little pain to tame a woman."

The cold breeze of the night hit her abdomen as the man's hand ripped her shirt from under the waist of her pants, and just like a switch, she moved in reaction to the situation. Something burst inside her, a new wave of fear made her fight back more fiercely than before as if by instinct she knew this was her last chance. No one was coming for her that was clear. She needed to fight for herself, to try until the very end regardless of the outcome, or she would not be able to live with herself.

With both hands pinned up strongly above her head, she did the only thing she could, she bit. Her teeth sink deeply on the soft flesh of the man's left ear. Yellow Smile screeched low as he tried to pull away from her iron bite. With more space to move, Alice used the man's hold on her to pull her foot up, and with all her strength, she kicked his chest. The assaulter released her with a cry, his hands holding one side of his face protectively, shielding the now earringless and bloody ear.

With a metallic flavor filling her mouth Alice spat to the ground, forming a small puddle of blood mixed with saliva, in the middle a rusty sphere shine in the dim light of the alley. Chunky arms hugged her painfully from behind before she could even take a step away and she yelped as her small body was lifting from the floor.

"You aren't getting away!"

Alice could smell the sweat from Piggy as her back seemed to sink into his huge belly, as if his rosy fat was absorbing her, swallowing her.

"Let me go, porco nojento!"(Filthy pig!) She shouts out. Her head fell forward, chin touched her chest and gaining as big of an impulse as she could, she hoisted back with all her power. A nasty crack reverberated behind her, as the crown of her skull collided with Piggy's nose. The man drooped her, falling into his knees crying and cursing. Oscillating, Alice tried to stand up, a gush of dizziness attempting to knock her out. With trembling legs and both assaulters down, Alice took this chance to flee. As she attempted to move away, a hand grabbed her ankle making her tumble; her hands come down barely in time to sustain her fall. Trying to free herself she kicked his hand off however, a sharp pain on her leg made her stop and retract her limbs into herself. Instinctively her fingers found the wound, and a gasp escaped her lips as pain shoot out through her limb, like dozens of needles piercing her skin.

Her heart hammered hard on her chest, rousing an agonizing and ceaseless pulse on her injury. It drummed loudly on her ears, demanding her body to move and react at the same quick pace, but she couldn't as Yellow Smile climbed on top of her; his weight keep her from moving. He raised his hand, a blade stained red was firmly secured in his grasp, and a ghastly smile materialized his thoughts. Teal orbs followed the knife smooth movements, until it disappears under her chin, stopping right above her neck.

_No…!_

"Wench, clearly ya don't know ya place." The blade dug deeper into her fair skin, drawing a thin red line. "But don't worry I will show ya, in a very slow way so even a stupid bitch like ya can understand." As he pronounced the word 'slow' he moved the blade, enlarging the cut with every single letter.

_Please help…!_

"Yeah, bro! Show her what happens when she messes with us!" Piggy cheered while crawling towards them, he positions himself over her head and pinned her hands to the concrete ground, his smile red from the blood that keeps dripping from his broken nose.

_Someone…!_

A swift hiss echoed, almost inaudible, on her ears. Alice felt it more than heard it, a rush of air passing near her, followed by a cry of pain. She opened her eyes with the suddenly weightless above her body. Yellow Smile was no longer straddling her, he was sitting down beside her, pain and confusion distorting his face. The arm, which seconds ago, was holding the knife was now pending awkwardly on his side, like the arm of a rag doll; the blade was still in his hand but his hold on it was loose. His dark eyes were googly, almost popping out as he stared at the red shining object stuck on his shoulder. With his free hand, he yanked the red thing with a grunt, and stared at it, analyzing and registering the shape, color, size.

"B-b-ba-t-BAT!" He yelled dropping the red object as if had burned him and crawled away from it.

Suddenly the pressure in her wrist was gone as Piggy stood up with a similar expression as his companion marking his features. Turning, the man wobbled away as fast as his chunky legs allowed him. Confused, Alice regarded the fallen small metallic object marred with blood.

_What's going on?_

A high-pitched yelp made Alice turn towards Piggy, who stood petrified, panting as if he had just run a marathon. His body started to shiver visibly and after a few seconds, a dripping noise and a pungent smell filled the air. The brunet looked incredulous to the dark puddle forming on the floor at his feet.

"Tt how unsightly." Someone said.

The voice was toneless with a hue of severity in it and came from the same direction as the fat bugler, but his big body occluded her sight.

Abruptly Piggy dashed out as if possessed, trying to use his big frame to crash against the person who was standing in his way. A shadow jumped away from his rampage, doing a graceful stunt over the man's head and landing behind him. Yellow and black swung in the night breeze, like a flag; a caped boy stood proudly in red and green garments. In a swift movement, the kid kicked Piggy's ribs, there was a crack followed by a grunt of pain, and the man bumped against the cement wall falling limp on the ground.

"Only one left." The kid turned to the other assaulter, who kept staring dumbly at him holding his damaged shoulder.

At first, Alice thought that Yellow Smile had started crying however, he throws his head up and unleashed a maniac laugh that made her shrink against the wall as far away from him as possible.

"It's not the Bat! It just the brat!" He barked out erecting into a fighting stance, weapon in hand. "There's nothing to worry about!"

"Fool." The boy said contempt in his voice.

Yellow Smile grinned, pointed the tip of the knife to the caped kid, and lunged forward like a wild boar, prepared to stab his opponent without any drop of conscience.

"No! Careful!" Not wanting to see or hear the horrible outcome, Alice closed her eyes and covered her ears.

A minute or so passed until Alice felt a nudge on her foot. Flinching she tried to make herself smaller but after a second nudge, this time with more force, the brunet cracked one eye open, a small pair of military-type green boots showing from between disheveled tresses. With surprise all over her features, her wide teal orbs roamed up and down over the boy's body searching for any wounds she was sure he had. To her growing surprise, she found none.

"It's over, how long do you intent to stay on the filthy ground?"

"You are not hurt?" Alice said, relaxing a little.

His answer was a deep frown and a click of his tongue.

_His he annoyed?_

Ignoring her question, the boy gathered the fallen bags of groceries and her wallet and placed them beside her.

"Thank you."

"You need medical assistance."

"Hum, n-no…"

"I disagreed." He said, eyes fixating on her bloody leg.

"I'm fine!" She defended harshly.

"The cops and ambulance are already on their way."

"What? I-I don't need an ambulance!"

"Son of a bitch." Alice cringed at the sound of Piggy's voice. As he tried to get up his head turned to the forgotten knife on the floor.

He was too slow, the kid ran to the blade and kicked it away from his reach. With a good punch in the face, the fight was over. The hero took a pair of flex cuffs from his utility belt and went to restrain the men.

Over the man curses, sirens could be heard approaching. With no desire to stay and wait for the ambulance, Alice took the opportunity of the boy distraction to flee. She grabbed her bags and limped away, as fast and silent as she was able to. Fortunately, he didn't follow her or tried to prevent her from escaping, maybe he didn't notice her or didn't care nonetheless.

Returning home was painful and slow, it took her the double of the time to arrive. She tried to blend in with the people passing by, hiding her wound and bloody pants with the grocery bags. Her eyes jumped in every direction, aware of all movements and sounds. The moment she passed the doorway, she felt her legs shaking and her lungs deflating, a gasp of relief escaped her dry lips. Laying the bags on the countertop of the kitchen, she fell on the sofa exhausted.

"What's wrong? What happen?"

Lea was sitting next to her, laptop on her legs. She was regarding her with a puzzled look; it was a mystery to Alice, how her niece always noticed when something was off. Even so, the brunet tried to evade the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't take me for a fool. I smell blood."

"That's because I'm bleeding."

_There is no use trying to hide it…_

"That's why I asked what happen!"

Alice didn't want to tell Lea she had been attacked, the girl would freak out. However, her niece wasn't going to let this matter go. She could see the stubbornness sparkling in her blue-green pools, so akin to her own, so much like his…

"Fine." The word fell from her mouth with exasperation, like a dry leaf in a gust of wind. "But first go fetch me my medical kit please."

Lea put her laptop aside and disappear towards her aunt's room, emerging a couple of minutes after, holding a big bag.

"Thanks."

Looking at her jeans stained with blood and dirt, she groaned and cut them from the hole of the knife all the way down. A perfectly good pair of jeans ruined…

Now with the fabric out of the way and better access to the cut, she cleaned it with water and a towel. The wound was by now, nothing more than a thin and superficial laceration.

"Everything was going well until I decided to take a shortcut…" While patching her leg up, Alice told Lea everything. Of course, she censored some parts of the story she thought the little girl didn't need to know. Even so, Lea listened carefully without interrupting a single time. She sat straight and unmoving while absorbing every detail, her features and emotions changing with the story. "… and I couldn't believe my eyes, a boy who looked no older than you beat up two grown men, without sustaining a single injury. It was amazing."

"I think I know who he his." Lea spoke at last. She typed something on her computer and turned the screen in Alice's direction. Various pictures of a boy, with short black hair dressed in a red top with black sleeves and black pants, green military boots, gloves and mask, and a long black and yellow cape resting on his back popped up.

"Sim! (Yes!) That's the boy who saved me."

"He's one of the vigilantes who watch over this city, fighting the crime and protecting the citizens. His name is Robin."

"Robin." Damian turned to face Batman as he descended from the other building into the rooftop beside him.

"Everything is under control."

Batman glanced down silently, his gaze lingering on the two men tied up and being taken into custody by the police and them to the medical team wandering from police officer to police officer. Robin observed the older vigilante intensely. There was something on his mind or maybe he wanted to say something, Damian wasn't sure. He had a hard time figuring his father when he had his cowl on. The piece hides almost every part of his feature making the normally difficult to read man even more challenging to understand. It was something that left a stain on his pride and put him in a sour mood.

"You reported a young woman being attacked by two men, where is she?"

Damian frowned. That was a good question. In the few minutes, it took him to subdue the felonious the woman disappeared. Not that he was particularly concerned about her, he didn't know her and he had fulfilled his duty effortlessly and perfectly. He had protected the innocent from the evildoers and assured their arrest.

"She's gone." The boy responded.

"Gone?" Damian scowled deepen; he recognized the reprimand tone in his father's voice too well. "You requested medical assistance, did you not?"

"Yes, I did. The victim was stabbed on the leg by a small blade belonging to the criminals. However, she refused medical treatment and run off when I was arresting the men."

"Robin your job is not to merely beat up criminals, it's to save and assure the safety of the people."

"I don't see why I'm at fault." The young hero defended himself.

"Your actions tonight display you still don't understand your duty towards this city when you put that mask on."

"But-!"

Batman put his hand up, palm facing forward in a gesture of authority and cessation, making Damian shut up.

"Furthermore, you didn't realize the victim was getting away and that is a grave problem, it could have been another enemy. This indicates an unusual lack of awareness of your part. I fear you aren't resting enough with the school and the patrol, plus the time you spend training. From now on I'm reducing your patrol activities only to the weekends and holidays."

"That is absurd! Father, I vouch that is not the case. This…" Damian fought to find the right word on his angry state. When he spoke again, it was in an icy and rigid voice, each word spelled a stab on his pride "miscalculation won't be repeated."

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**And that was the third chapter! I'm actually happy how this one turned out. Sorry, it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Until next time,**

**« Hakkane »**


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